Monthly Archives: April 2011

Meow-WOW! Our shelter is extremely full of dogs right now!! Ugh! No offense to dogs, but this is just too much! The staff actually had to put a hold on accepting any more surrenders! I don’t recall that ever happening before. Fortunately the 2 dogs that came in during the night went back home first thing this morning, but then we had 1 stray dog and 4 more cats came in today. What a coincidence in timing too since Amador County came in to pick up Muffins, Rosie, and Abbie the cats for an adoption event they are having this weekend. We only had one dog adopted today, “Blake” a cute little puppy. I sure hope some more of those visitors that came in yesterday decide to come back soon to adopt a dog. It’s gotten way too crowded in here for me!

Well, it’s Monday and thank the stars we had our two regular volunteers help us clean cages this morning! Well technically I just oversee the cleaning that gets done, but still… Without them we would not have been able to open our shelter on time and we had a lot of people that came in to look at our dogs. Hopefully some of them will be back to adopt them. ~ Jazzmine said she had a great time spending Easter evening away from the shelter with one of our staff, but she really wishes she had a real forever home to spend every day and evening with. That made me feel a little sad. 😦 But today we had two “Pitties” go home! In case you were wondering, a “Pitty” is what we refer to for a Pitbull. It has nothing to do with feeling pity, although I often do for this breed since many people unfortunately judge them (as with some other type breeds) before they ever meet them. ~ Let’s see…we had yet ANOTHER dog come in for quarantine today because it bit someone. For some reason there have been several dog bites lately! ~ Three dogs came in and not ONE of them had an ID. 😦 ~ We also had yet another dog surrendered because the owners had to move to an apartment that doesn’t allow pets. ~ “Phyllis” the female cat got adopted! Hurray! A well-deserved female if I do say so myself. 😉 ~ “Elroy” the adorable (for a dog that is) Aussie mix pup also got adopted. ~ And “Blake” the Catahoula mix pup will be going to his new home tomorrow because he got adopted too!

HAPPY EASTER! I know I don’t normally post on Sundays, but you should know that we still do a lot of work around here even on the days we are closed to the public. Cages and kennels still need to be cleaned and animals need to be fed and cared for everyday of the week. ~ So today I give thanks to PAWED volunteers who chose to spend their Easter morning with us and other volunteers who also stopped by for awhile to help out! It’s so awesome that we have such dedicated volunteers who think about all our homeless pets enough to come to our shelter and help us even on a holiday! And Jazzmine, the sweet Rottweiler even got to go have Easter dinner with one of our staff. That lucky girl! ~ I only have one complaint about today and that is that staff actually attempted to dress me up in ridiculous bunny ears and teeth! I don’t know what they were thinking?! I’m way too sophisticated for such nonsense. As soon as I saw what was coming I stiffened up, wiggled and pushed my way out of that situation! I have too much ‘cattitude’ for that. Now my friend Ricky on the other hand? Well, this photo says it all! Better him than me. 😉

Saturdays can be extra crazy and today, well, it was!! The shelter was worrisomely short-staffed today in comparison to all the work that needed to get done. I even found myself feeling overwhelmed and concerned watching the chaos of the few staff and volunteers we had to get all the animals taken care of, including all the cleaning, feeding, and getting all the dogs out to relieve themselves and exercised! Dogs aren’t like us cats. It is true that they require more work than us cats and their behavior in the shelter are often misunderstood. So it’s a good thing those PAWED volunteers showed up to help us!! I don’t know what we would do without them! ~ Today we had two Chihuahuas that came in late last night go home first thing this morning! Koda the Husky also went home today and 3 out of 6 stray dogs that came in today also went home. Woo-hoo! That’s why it’s always good to contact us as soon as you know you have either lost or found a pet. We keep those reports in our office in hopes of reconnecting companion animals with their family. ~ Both Jaycee and Lila went to their new families today! I had just mentioned Lila in yesterday’s post as being brought back after being adopted. Fortunately, that American Bulldog gets another chance to finding a forever home and only had to stay here again for less than 24 hours! Yessss! ~ Sweet Maggie, the Shepherd mix that was originally surrendered because her owners moved to a place that doesn’t allow pets, was adopted and will be going to her new home on Monday! I’m so pleased for her that everything worked out. Older dogs have a harder time finding homes even though there are lots of advantages to adopting an older dog. ~ We had one Dachshund surrendered for killing her owners pet rabbits. Oh my! And Burton, a white and blue merle coated Catahoula Leopard Hound mix puppy WAS going to get adopted today until the adopting family discovered they couldn’t afford the increased license fee for their other dog. 😦 That’s not a good thing. But, we also had lots of visitors today and for me that means lots of attention!! 🙂

Well, today was yet another busy day. Unfortunately we had to open an hour late because staff had so many animals to take care of before they could even open the shelter! Our shelter is SO full right now and I can see how exhausted the staff are by their facial expressions. Although another human may not be able to tell, my ‘cateriffic‘ ability to sense things can tell despite the fact that I am limited to seeing colors like humans. We have some very dedicated people who work here and it makes me proud to be part of the team. And when volunteers come in to help, staff are ALWAYS so appreciative. ~ Lila, an American Bulldog was returned and is back up for adoption. This makes me very sad. 😦 She’s one of those dogs that really doesn’t like cats, but I don’t take it personally. I’ve heard volunteers say she is wonderful on a leash and great with other dogs! She also loves to play fetch. ~ We had another dog surrendered today because the owners can’t afford her anymore. Sadly, that seems to be a recurring story I hear so often these days. *sigh* A stray dog was also turned in today along with a couple more of my kitty friends (as usual) and one dog came in to be quarantined because it bit someone. 😦 ~ Interestingly, we also got a turtle. Unfortunately, this poor guy had a smashed shell. Ugh! He reeked of infection and my stomach turned a bit knowing how much pain he must have been in! Sadly he didn’t make it and there was absolutely nothing anyone could have done for him. The damage and infection were just too far gone at that point.*sniffles* ~ On a more positive note, Eggbert the Chihuahua mix finally got adopted. His new name is Buckles. How cute is that? 🙂 And Sampson, the Anatolian Shepherd went home! Oh, and remember the 5 bottle-baby kittens I mentioned a few days ago that went into a foster home? Well, they are doing great! I saw the foster mom stop by for more supplies. Yippee! That’s always a great sign. 🙂 And even more importantly, I got lots of love and attention from people who came in today.I’m always looking for new laps to try out…

Oh woe is me!! Rosie and I had so much fun last night celebrating the adoption of Gru and William, but I sure felt lousy a number times. I don’t know what a doughnut is actually made of but once we started licking and chewing off tasty bits we sure felt energized! She and I reacted as if we had been exposed to catnip, only with the addition of occasional puke we left behind on the floor in various places in the office. The baggy of cereal she and I managed to share was delicious too! I’d forgotten how much fun I use to have staying awake late at night like I used to back in my younger days of prowling the streets. We played “Chase Me, Attack, and Run!” for several hours without any interruption of people. It was a fabulous party!! I didn’t realize until the morning how many things we managed to knock over during our play, but I could tell by the surprised look on staff faces when they came in this morning that they were not at all shall we say “happy campers.” Then I heard it, my name in THAT tone. Ugh! It really wasn’t that big of a deal…at least I didn’t think so. Surely the few claw-torn reports are easily put back together with a little tape. ~ Fortunately any bad feelings were short-lived. I knew all was back to normal again when staff began to laugh at the whole situation once everything was put back in place and all the shelter animals had been fed, cared for, and it was business as usual. The day ended being a good day in everyone’s eyes after all, including staff. We all felt joy seeing Mollie, the puppy I talked about on Saturday, go home with her forever family today. ~ Staff were sure to remember I was placed in my cage at the end of the day and Rosie, she even has a lock on hers. Guess no more parties for us in the future.

Well, it’s lights out here at the Shelter now so I thought I would update you on our day. Besides, I’m usually locked in my cage for the evening, but that’s not the case tonight. ~ We had a happy day today! 🙂 We had two cats (“William” and “Gru”) that have been here at our shelter for several months now waiting for their turn to get adopted. William has been here essentially since mid-December. He was adopted once before for just one week, but then he was returned because he was just too hyper and crazy playful for the family. And Gru, well, he’s been here since mid-February and has a very similar personality. These two have been housed together for a very long time now and have gotten use to having each other around. In fact, they are always cuddling up with one another and making sure each other are well groomed. I was starting to become a little discouraged about how long the two of them have been here, but that all changed today. Both William and Gru were adopted today! And not only were they adopted, they were adopted TOGETHER!! *sniffles* I just love happy stories like this. I’m keeping my paws crossed that we don’t see them in here again! ~ Wait a second…I just noticed Rosie, a domestic short-hair cat, got out of her cage!? I don’t know how she does it? I’ve seen her figure out how to open her cage door before, but never at night! *snicker* Hey! She found some leftover doughnuts on the counter. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to go now…I can’t let her eat those doughnuts alone now can I? Besides, I think we need to party and celebrate the fact that William and Gru were adopted together today…woo-hoo!! *doing the kitty jig!* ~ *Meow!* ~ *Hmmm…mmm…mmm!* ~ Woo-hoo!!!!!

Nothing exciting to post for today. Surely this must mean that the full moon is completely gone! We performed our usual work with minimal disruptions. I mostly provided staff oversight (which basically means I watch staff with my eye) while they perform their work. I like to watch them walk back and forth through the shelter as they clean kennels and cages and make sure all the animals are fed and cared for. ~ We did have one newborn kitten come in and what a cutie!! That little fur ball will be going to a foster home tomorrow where it will be bottle fed until its old enough to go up for adoption. Fortunately we have some wonderful volunteers that are able to provide foster homes and can give kittens the care and attention they need to get them ready to be adopted. ~ We also had two stray dogs come in today and some Aussie mix puppies that were surrendered. These little guys will be up for adoption this weekend!

Ha ha! Thankfully I didn’t get itchy eating the ‘restricted’ cat food over the weekend. I feel perfectly fine and no cone of shame for me! Whew! ~ It’s been a pretty quiet day today, but I found out that the horse that was stuck in the ditch got up and out just fine. It took the help of the local fire department, their winch, and the veterinarian’s anesthetics in the process. Thank goodness for all of these people who provide selfless services! If horses could talk I’m sure we would hear something like, “My heroes!” 🙂 ~ “Paisley” the kitten got adopted and “Mocha” a German shepherd pup got adopted by her foster mom. Mocha must have batted those big, beautiful brown eyes. Who could resist? Oh, and one stray little Chihuahua with an injured leg came in, too. That’s it for today…time for me to go catch up on some sleep!

What a crazy, busy day for our staff and officers today! I’m wondering if there was a full moon last night. Our officers were swamped with what we refer to as ‘priority’ calls. They had to respond to 8 calls about dog bites and 2 calls about loose/aggressive dogs in completely opposite ends of the county! Apparently the loose dogs were reported as aggressive and going after residents on the street! Can you imagine? Where do you go when you don’t have claws and can’t climb trees? Thankfully no one was hurt before the officers could control the situations. ~ Then we got ANOTHER call about 2 stray dogs that broke through a fence and attacked and injured someone’s cat! Hopefully the kitty will be OK. 😦

But wait, there’s more! Our officers also had to respond to a call about an injured horse stuck in a drainage ditch. These cases also require responses from a local large animal veterinarian and the fire department to try and help the horse. I heard that the horse was distressed and couldn’t get up on its own. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention all the other routine calls our poor officers had to squeeze in. We only had 2 officers working in the field today!

I didn’t get ANY naps and I didn’t see any of the staff get an opportunity to take a single break! I even lost count on the number of people that came into visit our animals today. In fact I think they got more attention today than ME! That’s okay. I can handle sharing attention as long as I’m not completely ignored. We all like attention, including my animal friends in the cages and kennels. My only complaint really is when we have so many visitors my daily naps get interrupted. Remember I need to have a minimum amount of sleep to maintain my handsome coloring and healthy fur.

It takes a lot of energy for staff to assist so many visitors. So much so that just watching them work today made me very tired and hungry for some flavorful cat food. On occasions I get a craving for cat food that tastes better than what I’m allowed to eat because of my food allergies. But today was more than I could resist! I couldn’t help myself! Now please don’t think that I’m an opportunistic kitty, but the other cats’ food was just THERE! I figured just a few tasty morsels would be okay. Besides, staff were too busy to prevent me from having this wonderful, dreamy moment of remembering what it was like to eat ‘real’ mouth-watering cat food! Oh yeah, baby! Not that fake, tasteless food they usually feed me that comes in a container that stating it’s supposedly “special” cat food. Let me just tell you there’s nothing special about it…except maybe the price. Anyway, it didn’t last long before I heard THE VOICE. My name called out in that awful tone that means “bad kitty!” That sound ALWAYS makes me scamper away quickly even though I do try to pretend nothing really happened, but oh yum! My goodness that was good! I licked around my entire mouth to get any lingering flavor that may have been left on my fur or whiskers around my mouth. I even made sure I wiped my paw along my face and cheeks and licked my paws to extract any and all lingering flavor of real food! It was hypnotizing! But once the hypnotism wore off I began thinking sensible again. Now I’m just praying it won’t be so bad that I can’t control my scratching tomorrow! If they catch me scratching too many times they just may break out the “cone of shame” and make me wear it. Grrr… I don’t like the cone of shame! Keeping my paws crossed that doesn’t happen to me.

Okay enough about me. The dogs Brynn, Grover, and Dahu all went to their new homes! Mollie the Golden Retriever/Husky mix puppy was adopted. She’ll only be here now through Wednesday to get spayed and then she gets to go to her new home. We also had 2 stray dogs go home, but Jynx the gorgeous Himalayan cat (who is almost as gorgeous as me) got returned. 😦 Lastly, 2 stray dogs came in. One of them had to be quarantined because it bit someone.

My eyes are very heavy and my day is FINALLY over. I am going to sleep like a baby in my cage tonight (unless of course I start to itch). Wow, even Ricky is already in his cage sleeping. He must have got wore out too. If only our busy officers were so lucky. I hear they are still working on all the important calls they got today. I guess the term “work shift” for them is kind of loose on particularly busy days like today. 😉 Well, time for lights out. Hasta la vista, baby! *yawn*